Everything and the Kitchen Sink V1.2 a Guide to Arranging for the Small (And Not So Small) Ensemble by Barney Walker

Everything and the Kitchen Sink v1.2 A Guide to Arranging for the Small (and not so small) Ensemble by Barney Walker

Scared of having a variety of instruments in your ensemble? Nervous about what your instrumentalists think of your writing skills? Afraid of doing your first arrangement? Don’t be! You are probably an arranger now, and don’t even know it. If you have sat before a piece of written music and played it; but, for whatever reason, decided to change even one note, you are an arranger. As churches become more accepting of a variety of instruments in liturgical accompaniment, it becomes incumbent on the music director to arrange music for these ensembles, a task that many pianists/organists/choir directors never thought they would ever encounter. Whether you have only a piano and guitar in your ensemble, or you have brass, winds, strings and percussion, you have to be an arranger to ensure that everything goes smoothly. This guide will give you the basics of arranging for all types of instruments. It will not make you ready to quit your day job and get hired by Hollywood to arrange for John Williams, Howard Shore or Danny Elfman, but it will make you proficient at controlling the instrumental forces you will encounter in the church ensemble. So, enough talking, already! Let’s get to it!

Helpful Hint There are as many ways to arrange a piece of music as there are ways to compose it. While there is really no ironclad “right or wrong” in arranging, there is, never-the-less, Good and Bad.

The Rhythm Section Instruments: Bass, guitar, drum set, auxiliary percussion, keyboards. Function: Provide harmony, rhythmic drive and steady time, occasional melody. Comments: The rhythm section is the heart of the ensemble; you cannot have an ensemble without at least one of the harmony rhythm instruments. Whether it is only a single keyboard or entire rhythm section, the function does not vary. It is harmony and rhythm – not melody. (Note: It is not called the melody section.) You have singers and other instrumentalists for melody work. The rhythm section is only for RHYTHM and HARMONY. 1. Bass – electric bass, acoustic bass, bass played on a synthesizer. This may come as a surprise to many, but the instrument responsible for setting the tempo and maintaining an even pace is the bass, not the drums. This is because bass plays on the strong beats while the drums (hi-hat cymbal and snare) play primarily on the weak beats. When describing rhythm as “boom-chick boom-chick,” the bass is the boom and the drums are the chick. To change tempo, the bass player speeds up or slows down and the drummer follows suit. While the electric bass is the prime instrument of choice, a synthesizer bass is acceptable. Use amplified acoustic bass only if the other two are not available. When I’m seated at the piano and need to choose between having either a bass or a drum set, I will always choose the bass because of its rhythmic and harmonic qualities. Function: To provide the bass note of the harmony and set tempo. Composition: Bass parts can be as simple as giving the player the piano part (if they read notes) or the guitar part (if they read chords) or as complex as writing out your own original bass part. Be aware of the axiom, “Be careful what you wish for, you may get it.” If you write a note-for-note bass part, the player will play it exactly how you have written it. Only then will you see why this is a bad idea. Bass players are taught to create their own parts based on the needs of the harmony and rhythm. Trust them. If your bass player can’t create a part from the guitar or piano part, get him to a teacher – fast! Rhythm: Bass players help set up rhythmic patterns that run throughout the piece. The pattern is dependent on the tempo and time signature; feel free to ask the bass player to change the pattern if it does not suit the piece. Here are some typical rhythmic bass patterns: 1

Notation: Bass parts are notated in three manners – written notes (always in bass clef), chord symbols, or chord symbols with indicated bass. As I warned previously, beware of writing an original bass line unless you’re desperate to have a certain series of notes played the same every time. The best bet is to go with the guitar part (or an altered guitar part if you are changing some chords). The bass player will use the chords to create a part. A typical chord part might be: |Amin7 Dmin7 | G7 Cmaj7|. The bass player will use the chord names to get the primary notes and will fill out the rhythmic pattern with other notes in the chord or notes that lead to the next chord. Sometimes you will encounter a chord like this: Fmaj7/G. This is a chord symbol with indicated bass. It means that an Fmaj7 chord is played, but a G note is played in the bass. It is used in two different instances. The example given above is to make the chord easier for the guitar player to set up; in reality, Fmaj7/G is a G13sus4(no5th) chord. This causes heart attacks and strokes among guitarists – so it’s easier for them to play Fmaj7 and have the bass or piano play the G as the root. The second instance is when you wish to have the bass play notes that are not the root of the chord, such as a descending bass line under one continuous chord. An example would be: |C C/B | C7/Bb F/A | Fmin/Ab G7 | C |. The descending line is indicated as well as the chords of the harmony. Note: only use indicated bass when the desired bass note is not the root of the chord symbol. As a last resort, you can give the bass player the piano part in an attempt to get a line from the left hand. Remember: the piano part was written for a pianist, not a bass player! Use only if no other way is feasible.

Helpful Hint Before giving your bass player the guitar part, check to insure that the guitar chords match the piano part. Publishers will frequently simplify the guitar chords and not show an indicated bass. You may see an Amin6 guitar chord, but find an F# as the bass note in the piano part. This is actually an F#min7(b5), one of those heart attack chords. You should correct the bass part to read Amin6/F#. All concerned will thank you.

2. Guitar – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, 12 string guitar. This may also come as a surprise to many, but the guitar is a rhythm instrument. “WHAT??!!,” you say. “I play chords and melody with my guitar – it’s NOT a rhythm instrument!!” Sorry, but it is. Remember, it is only recently that amplified guitars became available. Up to that time, jazz bands (the original home of the ensemble guitar) used the instrument’s rhythmic strumming as a time keeper. No one outside of the band could hear the guitar. Like the bass, the guitar contributes to both harmony and rhythm. Since there are soooooo many books written on guitar technique, I will limit this section of the guide to a few pertinent facts. Function: To provide the harmony and maintain a steady rhythm and tempo. Composition: Guitars play beautiful solo melody lines . . . on recordings, where the subtlety of the instrument can be appreciated. In the live church setting, stick with harmony, not melody. There are three basic rhythmic/harmonic styles: strumming, plucked chords and arpeggiation. We all know what strumming is. Plucked chords are when the guitarist simultaneously plucks all the notes of a chord, making a sound similar to striking a chord on the piano. Arpeggiation is playing the chordal

2 notes one right after another, sounding like a harp. Note: the arpeggiated notes are plucked, not strummed. Uses of the three styles: Strumming is the most common, and the most imprecise, of the styles. Its use is primarily rhythmic, driving the beat or feel of contemporary/rock/syncopated pieces, while contributing marginally to the harmony. In a softer section, plucked chords are beautiful and can actually be used in place of the piano for pieces that move in a steady quarter note pattern, such as “O Come All Ye Faithful”. Arpeggiated chords are wonderful in soft sections, where the melody is moving slowly, like in “What Child Is This?” and “Servant Song.” Notation: Like the bass, guitar parts are notated by three means: written notes (always in treble clef), chord symbols, or chord symbols with indicated bass. Written notes are only for melodies; save them for the recordings, not live performances. Chord symbols are the standard for guitarists. Use indicated bass only if the part is to be shared with a bass player. Be aware that some guitarists like to see indicated bass parts because it allows them to figure out the name of the complex chord you’re trying to simplify and play it. Your best bet is to stick with the chords on the published guitar part, or the chords over the piano part. If you occasionally find a piano part without any chord symbols, there may be a good reason: either the part is too complex (modern harmonies) or the chords change too fast for the guitar to keep up. In either case, encourage the guitar to “lay out” or “lay down” or whatever the heck you say to get them not to play.

Helpful Hint Occasionally, you may want the guitar to play some weird combination of notes that can’t be represented by a standard chord symbol. Your first inclination will be to actually write the notes on the staff, like you would for a pianist. Word to the wise – DON’T!!! Placing notated chords, instead of chord symbols, will cause the guitar player to stare at you most strangely. In addition, they have been known to throw things and, occasionally, bite.

3. Drum Set – also called a drum kit and a trap set (it’s all the same – DRUMS) Drummers do not speak English – they speak drumese – a language invented by the first prehistoric drummer, Oog Whackstick. If you ask the drummer what they intend to play for the first refrain, this is what you get, “I’ll do double paradiddles with ratamacue flam taps followed up by a triple drag ruff and roll.” I’m not kidding. These are real drum things – just ask any rudimental drummer and they’ll play them for you. Hence the first lesson: don’t try to talk music to a drummer. Instead, talk about the feel and emotion. “I want something exciting here and when we get to this verse, I want something mellow and sweet, and on the final chorus a strong drive with the same rhythm as the bass.” This, they’ll understand. Function: To maintain a steady rhythm and tempo and to accent certain high points in the song. Rhythmic styles: Drummers are like bass players – they like to create their own parts based on certain standard rhythms. Here are most of the standard styles you’ll encounter in church music. All you need to do is decide which applies to your piece and write it at the beginning of the drum part – the drummer will do the rest. A. Pop style with straight eighths. Use for most up tempo pieces such as “City of God,” “Lead Me, Lord,” “Though the Mountains May Fall,” and others like this. B. Rock drive. Use for “Awesome God,” “Let the Fire Fall” and driving praise songs. C. Gospel/Spiritual with swing eighths. This has a feel of triplets throughout. Use on “Precious Lord,” “Amazing Grace,” “There Is Peace in the Valley,” and such. D. Ballad. Use for non-syncopated slow to medium tempos like “Holy Darkness,” “On Eagle’s Wings,” “Servant Song” and “To Be Your Bread.” E. Latin. Let the drummer decide the best Latin rhythm to employ. Use for “Pan De Vida” and “Pescador De Hombres.” F. Jazz. Of occasional use for songs such as “Sing of the Lord’s Goodness.” G. Medium straight beat (or medium rock). This is the ultimate catchall – it covers almost everything else. Drummers love this style since it gives them great latitude. Use for “I Am

3 the Bread of Life,” “The Supper of the Lord,” “Blest Are They,” “One Spirit, One Church,” ‘Rain Down,” “Companions on the Journey” and most psalms. Time signature doesn’t matter; medium straight beat can be in two, three or four. I’m sure there are many who will despair that I have left out their favorite styles, such as 2-beat, 4- beat, bounce, fatback and others. These can certainly be employed if you know what you’re getting into. Talk to your drummer - they know them all. Notation: So, if you’re not going to write notes or drumese, what ARE you going to put on the drummer’s part? They don’t care about lyrics – they don’t care about melody – and they definitely are going to do their own rhythm. So what DO they care about? MEASURES! Yes, the fine art of counting – so they don’t get lost. They want a visual representation of time, divided into sections of 4, 8, or 16 bars (to make it easy for them to count; drummers feel 4, 8 and 16 bar phrases very easily). All they need is a staff line with a time signature, a style marking, a dynamic mark at the beginning and sections marked off in 4, 8 or 16 bar segments. They also like to see the word Refrain, Verse or Final Refrain to mark the sections. Measure numbers at the beginning of each new sections can help. What about a weird piece with 7 bar phrases? Just make sure to put a double bar line at the end of the 7 bar phrase so the drummer knows the phrase has ended. And finally, is there anything you can tell the drummer in the part to convince them that you are still in control, even though you don’t speak drumese? YES!!! Here are the three magic words which will leave you in ultimate control: TIME, FILL and SOLO. TIME means, “Play the correct accompaniment rhythm and don’t do anything else.” FILL means, “This is the end of a phrase and you can do a little drum thingie to lead us into the next phrase.” SOLO (and be careful with this one) means, “Here is a spot where we need a real definitive drum bit to fill more than one measure – please don’t hurt us or get me fired.” Needless to say, the use of the word SOLO more than twice a year is living dangerously. Here is a typical notated drum part:

Helpful Hint Need a timpani roll? They’re great for introductions and lead-ins to the final refrain. Unfortunately, timpani cost an arm and a drum stick, and few parishes have them. Here’s an acceptable substitute: have the bass player do a two finger roll on the required note, while the drummer plays a roll with soft mallets on the low tom. If you don’t know what this means, the bass and drummer will. The traditional 1-5-1-5-1-5-1 timpani line can be achieved by having the bass play the desired notes and the drummer duplicating the rhythm, with soft mallets, between the mid and low toms. Make sure your drummer owns a selection of soft (often called “yarn”) mallets. Not only are they good for drums, they are also excellent for cymbal rolls – a device that can bring excitement and tension to your arrangement.

4. Auxiliary percussion – anything you hit, shake or twist that the drummer doesn’t want to play. This is the one to watch out for. All other instrumentalists in your ensemble had to have some (even if it was rudimentary) training to play their instrument. However, the auxiliary percussionist could

4 have wandered in off the street, stumbled into the music closet, found a conga, a shaker and a tambourine, tapped each one once, and shouting “Arriba, andale,” present themselves to you as God’s answer to Tito Puente. In other words, their skill can run from awesome to “cannot even spell shaker – let alone play one.” For those in the latter category, here’s the word – auxiliary percussion comes in three varieties: Time keepers, accents, and Halleluia Brother. Time keepers: These instruments play a steady, non-varying rhythm. Once you start them going they do the same thing over and over again. Non-professional auxiliary percussionists don’t like this – they find it boring. You must convince them that it is part of the gig – like the drummer playing time or the guitarist strumming. The steadiness is what it is all about. A. Shakers. Cylindrical, egg shape, maracas or gourd. The shaker is played with a combination of arm movement for steady rhythm, and a wrist flick for accent. B. Scrapers. Guiro, wood or metal. Hold by finger holes or by the small end. Pitch is determined by the speed of the scraper across the ridges and the direction (away or toward you). Typical pattern is fast away followed by two medium towards. C. Claves. These instruments (which look like two wooden hot dogs) are not the easiest instrument to play. Don’t grasp the claves like a stick or a chicken’s neck. This deadens the sound. There is only one right way to play them and it’s not easy to explain. Hold your left hand parallel to the ground with the palm up. Curl your left fingers inward like you are admiring your manicure. Rest one clave across your nails; this gives it a hard surface to lay on and will help the sound. Hold the other clave near the end and strike the resting clave near the middle. By varying where the two claves actually meet, you can determine the “sweet spot” by listening for the loudest and crispest sound. A wood block can be used as a poor man’s claves. As opposed to other time keepers, they are never played on the beat. They are usually played in the following rhythm: | | | D. Drums. Conga, dhjambe, bongos, timbales. There areŒ q û aq millionû q û q û rhythmsŒ you can play on a drum. Get a book from the local music store and pick out some good patterns for your auxiliary percussionist. Above all, stress the idea of a repeated rhythm and don’t let them just bang the drum on the beats. Booooorrrrring. Accents: These instruments are used to accent a phrase or a fermata. They are subtle and are struck to “round out” a phrase or held note. A. Finger cymbals. This is the most beautiful of the accentors. Note: I am not talking about the $5.00 thin circles that look and sound like tin can lids. I am referring to the $35.00, Zildjan finger cymbals that are made of thick brass and produce the purest, most heavenly ding when struck on the edge. Use them to separate phrases, such as: “Come Holy Ghost, Creator blest [ding] and in our hearts take up thy rest [ding].” B. Triangle. Use exactly the same as finger cymbals. A good triangle is not terribly expensive, but many come with awful beaters – thick chunks of metal with the sound quality of a lead pencil. To make an outstanding beater, go to a good hardware store and buy a thin (1/4 inch or less width) drill bit that has a long shank, at least six inches. Have the store cut or break off the drill part leaving you with a high quality metal beater. Your triangle can be small. Remember, you’re not calling the ranch hands in to chow – you’re accenting subtly. C. Chinese bell tree. This device looks like you took the bells off the top of an old-time alarm clock and stacked them, according to size, on top of one another. Then you ran a stick down through the center of the stack, separated the bells so they didn’t touch and mounted the whole thing on a base. You play the bell tree by running a triangle beater from the top of the tree down. The sound is sort of like a “brrrriiiiiiinnnngg.” You want to time the sound so the very end of the “iiiiinnngg” coincides with the beat. Halleluia Brother: These are the instruments of mass destruction – they have the potential to get you seriously fired. USE THEM WITH CAUTION. These instruments are loud, often over used and should be reserved for songs that “cry out” for their use, not merely “suggest” it. A. Tambourine. This can be shaken in a steady rhythm like a time keeper, used to accent a new phrase like an accentor, or played in the rhythm of the melody. There is another way to 5 use the tambourine. If you set it sideways on your lap you can tap out a quiet rhythm, maybe even a rumba or bolero pattern, which will support the rhythm of the drummer. B. Cowbell. Cowbells are great time keepers and rock drivers. They are usually played incor- rectly. Don’t hold the cowbell by its handle. This will result in it sounding like . . .well . . . a cowbell. You don’t want a clangy dong sound. Instead, lay the cowbell in you palm and grasp the sides with your fingers and squeeze. Now, when you strike it with a drum stick, you’ll get a thwap or a cachunk sound. The cowbell is played on the beat, four to a measure, with a firm hand. It is not a drum. It does not do complex rhythms. It’s a time keeper.

Helpful Hint Will the requirement to play a steady 1-2-3-4 beat bore most auxiliary percussionists? Definitely. Will they rebel and try to over play? Certainly. How do you control this? Assert your authority and demand they stick to the job at hand – keeping the beat. Or take away their beaters and show them the consequences of over playing by forcefully performing the conga part to “Flight of the Bumblebee” on their head. Hey, you’re the boss . . . it’s good to be king.

5. Keyboards – Piano, electric piano, electronic organ. Keyboards do it all, rhythm, chords, accompaniment. However, by now, you see that the other instruments are doing all these things. The bass and guitar create the harmonic accompaniment while the drums and auxiliary percussion push the rhythm. What’s left for the keyboard to do? Much like an 800 pound gorilla, anything they want. The keyboardist listens to the arrangement, to the harmony instruments, the rhythm instruments, the melody instruments and the singers. From a careful analysis of this sound, the keyboardist fashions a part to fill in any spaces. It might be a rhythm, an harmonic extension, a melodic imitation, or an improvised descant. Whatever, it is rarely what’s written in the accompaniment piano part. Those parts are written to cover everything needed, even if you don’t have a guitar, bass and drums. There are times when the keyboardist might play only three or four notes per phrase (Count Basie made an entire career of it). How do you learn what to do? You listen – not to recordings of a pianist and a choir, but to recordings of arrangements, to CDs of religious artists. Listen and learn. By the way, you don’t use go-go bells and heavy metal guitar on a Bach fugue – so don’t use the church pipe organ in your small ensemble.

Helpful Hint The better your rhythm section, the worse they’ll sound on the first few times through a new arrangement. Remember, they’re not there to play what’s on the page – it’s only a road map for harmony and form. On the first go around, they are listening to see what the choir, soloists, melodic instrumentalist, and each other are going to do. As they figure out what is required by the piece, what is wanted by the composer, and what is necessary to support the singers, they will develop and create their part. Give them a break and let them work out what they’re going to do – it will pay off in the long run.

The Melodic Section Instruments: Winds, reeds, brass, strings and their synthesized counterparts. Function: Provide melody, descants, harmony. Comments: The melodic instruments are icing on the cake. They add true beauty but must not be essential to the arrangement (unless you’re arranging for a recording and can be sure that they’ll show up). I’m sure you’re confident that if all your rhythm buddies (guitar, bass and drummers) decide to skip Mass, the piano can still cover. But, if the flute takes the day off and you’ve written a 16 bar 32nd note zippy solo that would sound ridiculous on the piano, you’re caught between a rock and a jazz place. Make sure that all your melodic instruments can be missing and the arrangement can still fly. 1. Descant & Melody – Violin, flute, piccolo (heaven forbid). These instruments have a wonderful upper range. They’re excellent for descants, upper harmonies, pedal points and melodies. Just to clear up any misunderstanding: a line written over the melody that follows the contour of the melody (such as a consistent 3rd above) is an upper harmony; a line written over the melody with an independent theme and partially or totally different words is a descant. Pedal 6 point comes from organ literature and refers to a pedal note that’s held while various differing harmonies are played above it. Organists use it on final refrains to give the piece gravitas and a sense of finality. Pedal points are played very low or very high (hence the violin). While the flute can do pedal point, a violin is better because it can hold the note indefinitely – no breath breaks. When a flute plays a pedal point, it’s more effective to have the flute trill. Violin pedal points sound good with tremolo. Both flute and violin are good for upper harmonies and melodies. Keep one thing in mind: if a line sounds good on the piano while you are arranging, it will probably sound fine on the violin; but the flute is not strong from middle C to an octave up. It is advisable to write the flute one octave higher than you think it ought to be. Most times, you will be pleased with the results. A. Notation and transposition. Write in treble clef. Both violin and flute seem to prefer ledger lines instead of 8va above the notes. It looks scary to piano players to see melodies all written with 3, 4 or 5 ledger lines for each note. But fear not, fiddles and flutes apparently eat these things for breakfast. The piccolo is a transposing instrument. If you MUST write for it, remember that it sounds one octave higher than the written notes. B. Compositional technique. Everyone knows how to write a melody or harmony in thirds, so let’s talk about pedal points and descants. Pedal points are normally at least one octave above the melody. A pedal point in an exciting section is often approached with a ripping one octave chromatic run from below. A pedal point in a quiet section is best done by violin and is a single held note that starts pp crescendos to ff and diminuendos to ppp at the end. Descants are filler melodies that are played above the theme. Start a descant after the main melody has started, not in conjunction with the start of the melodic phrase. Generally, when the melody is active, the descant is static; but when the melody has some half or whole notes, the descants soars. This allows the audience to hear and understand the descant words. A fine example of descant writing is in “Table of Plenty.” Study it and learn! Finally, you can just double the soprano melody up one octave with flute or violin. If nothing else, it’ll keep the sopranos honest.

Helpful Hint If someone shows up and wants to play piccolo, do not turn them away. Just make them an auxiliary percussionist. This is good for many reasons: 1. they already know how to read music; 2. they’re probably tired of playing a million notes a second in the stratosphere and will welcome four notes to the bar; 3. they’ll irk the snot out your existing auxiliary percussionists and make them want to improve. A win-win.

2. Melody & Harmony – Strings, clarinet, saxophone, oboe, bassoon, French horn. These instruments have a wonderful middle range. They’re excellent for harmonies, pedal points and melodies. Although a few violas and celli are nice, and a pair of French horns are just dandy, it’s best to have just one each of the reed and double reed instruments listed . . . there’s a lot of truth in the old axiom that “the only way to get two oboes to play in unison is to shoot one of them.” All the listed instruments can be used for melody doubling or counter melodies. Use the violas, celli, bassoon and the French horns for harmony pads (pads are non-melodic quarter, half and whole notes that fill out the harmony). Note: I have not mentioned the string bass (bass viol, double bass). Because of conflict with the electric bass, it should not be used. A. Notation and transposition. Write in treble clef for viola, clarinet, sax, oboe and French horn. (Violas also read the alto clef, but I don’t – thus, I avoid it.) Cello and bassoon get the bass clef. Remember – wind instruments are called that for a reason – they need to breathe. Use rests or phrase markings to allow them to do so. None of these instruments like ledger lines – use 8va for high notes. B. Compositional technique. In addition to melody doubling, harmonies and counter melodies, these are wonderfully colorful instruments to play a solo on their own. Make sure that the solo can be adequately covered by the piano or another instrument if they don’t show up. Cue the solo, that is, write it in little notes in the piano or another part. Cello and bassoon are great for lower pedal points. Just make sure that their note agrees with the electric bass; do not have a lower pedal point against a moving electric bass line. Look to any existing octavo of the piece

7 for descant, counter melody or harmony parts. Frequently you can adapt a single instrumental octavo part into a multi instrument part by divvying up the line among your forces. C. Transposing instruments. Bb trumpet, D trumpet, French horn in F, Bb clarinet, clarinet in A, Bb soprano sax, Eb alto sax, Bb tenor sax, English horn in F. “HOLY MACKEREL – how am I going to remember all of that.” Rejoice, dear reader, relief is at hand. If you take nothing else away from this arranging guide, let it be the following. (Believe me; it will make you a giant among instrumentalists and the idol of all musicians you encounter.) a. ALL transposing instruments have a note in their name. (see above) b. ALL transposing instruments are written in the treble clef. c. ALL transposing instruments sound a different note than is written on the staff. d. The ONLY non-transposing instrument with a note name is the Bb trombone. e. Here’s the kicker, the trick, the way to memorize all the transpositions so you don’t look like a dummy when you write out the instrumental parts. Read the next sentence over and over until you get it; if you don’t get after a hundred readings, call me – I’ll explain it to you. If you write a middle C on a piece of staff paper, place it in front of a transposing) instrument and say, “PLAY,” the pitch that will come out of the instrument will be the note in the name. Got that? Let me give you an example. You place a written C in front of a clarinet( in A. The player fingers the C on the clarinet and blows. Out comes an A. Place the same paper before an Eb alto sax; when the player fingers a C, out comes an Eb. French horns sound an F, D trumpets sound a D. A shorter version goes “Write a C and it will sound its name.” Thus, the “transposition” of an instrument is the interval between its name and C. To be complete you should also know the direction of the transposition. The word “down” means the instrument sounds lower than the written note. The word “up” means the instrument sounds higher than the written note. All the instruments you are likely to encounter in your ensemble transpose down, except for the D trumpet. Armed with this info, you can now figure out all the instrumental transpositions. I’m going to be nice – here they are: Up a major 2nd – D trumpet; down a major 2nd – Bb clarinet, Bb soprano sax, Bb trumpet; down a minor 3rd – clarinet in A; down a perfect 5th - French horn in F, English horn in F; down a major 6th – Eb alto sax; down a major 9th (major 2nd + an octave) – Bb tenor sax. Remember – when you figure out your arrangement, you’re using “sounding” notes. To get the correct written notes for the parts, you have to change up to down and down to up; If I have sketched out where I want the clarinet in A to SOUND, I have to take its transposition (down a minor 3rd) and write the part UP a minor 3rd from where I have it sketched now. It will then SOUND a minor 3rd lower than what I have written . . . right where I want it.

Helpful Hint Some people have asked, “I have a choice of using either an oboe or a bassoon. Is there really a difference between the two?” Yes there is – the bassoon will burn longer.

3. BRASS!!! – Trumpet, Bb trombone. Lets take care of one of these instruments right off the bat – the trombone may be viewed as a bassoon designed by a plumber and treated as such. Use it exactly as you would a bassoon, that is, for harmony, low melody and pedal point. Write in bass clef and don’t go too low. Now, for the trumpet. Let me start with a little factoid. We all have heard Handel’s “Messiah,” a grandiose and powerful work if there ever was one. Mighty choruses abound in a well orchestrated masterpiece. “Messiah” is comprised of 53 individual selections, totaling about one hundred eighty minutes in length. Keep those numbers in mind – 53 selections and one hundred eighty minutes of majestic music. Of those 53 selections, the trumpet performs in only four; of those one hundred eighty minutes, the trumpet plays only nine. Nine minutes in over a three hour work. Handel had the right idea – save the trumpet for the really important spots. In the small ensemble, the trumpet is not normally a

8 melodic instrument unless the work calls for a forceful, edgy and cutting theme. Trumpets do best as melody on intros, descants on the final refrain, melody doubling at the very end of the piece, and fanfare figures where needed. Don’t overwrite for the trumpet. Does this mean that the trumpet spends 55 minutes out of every playing hour just sitting there? Yes it does. Don’t be fooled by their puppy dog eyes – it’s a ruse. They’re used to long periods of inactivity – just ask any symphonic trumpeter. Here’s a few writing hints. 1. Don’t start their lines too high or too soft, and especially not high AND soft. 2. Learn about the trumpet mutes; straight, cup, bucket and Harmon. These mutes radically alter the trumpet sound and can be used most effectively. And finally, don’t be afraid to write for the trumpet when necessary – just be sure it is REALLY necessary. Like the tambourine, save it for the end. You will notice that I do not address the tuba. Like the string bass, it’s not welcome in most small ensembles because it clashes with the electric bass. If you must use a tuba, form a brass quintet and let them play their own Mass.

Helpful Hint Even though I do not recommend the use of a tuba, somebody always wants to know “what is the range of a tuba?” I’d say about 15 yards if you’ve got a good arm.

4. The Synthesizer. There isn’t a single instrument that scares clergy as much as the synthesizer. The second they see it, visions of their beloved piano and pipe organ being relegated to the junk heap dance in their heads. Remember, if you must replace your acoustic piano or pipe organ with something electronic, DO NOT get a synthesizer; buy an electronic piano or electronic organ. They sound better and are easier to play. Besides, they’ll be used for piano and organ sounds and cannot be used simultaneously for a variety of synthesized sounds. If you’re lucky enough to have your piano and organ needs met AND you also have a synthesizer, then you’re sitting pretty. The synthesizer can be used for any of the instruments we have covered, from bass to flute and everything in between. Two very important rules to remember: first, do not amplify the synthesizer through the church system. Musical instruments should be directional; you don’t want to look at the drums in the left front corner of the church and hear them coming out of a speaker in the right back. Get an amp for the synthesizer, just as you would for the guitars and bass. Second, and most important, make sure your synthesizer player realizes that this IS NOT a keyboard instrument. The keyboard is simply the means of interfacing with the electronics. The synthesizer is a violin . . . or a flute . . . or a trumpet. A synthesizer player should not study keyboard technique – they should study the instrumental technique of the sound being synthesized. The following quotes are from my dealings with “synth” players: “Yes, it’s pretty, but the guitar cannot play seven notes simultaneously;” “Yes, it’s pretty, but the trumpet cannot sustain a high C at pianissimo volume for 37 measures straight;” and my personal favorite, “Yes, it’s pretty, but the two hundred voice Male Glee Club setting does not enhance my arrangement of Gentle Woman.” The synthesizer player must know the characteristics and limitations of the instrument being imitated.

Bringing the Arrangement to Life The arrangement must do something. It cannot just sit there. Music should be alive, constantly on the move, evolving as it progresses. Almost every song you’ll find in a hymnal is in a form that is not alive; every refrain has the exact same accompaniment; the introduction is the last four bars of the piece; the ending is a screeching halt; the harmony is identical for every verse. In other words, it just sits there. What do you expect? After all, the congregation just sits there. Maybe you can bring the congregation to life by bringing the music to life. Let’s assume we have full rhythm with violin, flute, clarinet, sax, trumpet, trombone and French horn. The first step is deciding who the arrangement is for. If it’s for the congregation, the roadmap (the layout of refrain and verses) is set, as are the words and melody. Also, when writing for congregation, you are battling (hopefully) with a loud singing ensemble. Keep in mind that a low flute or guitar solo line will never be heard. Go with the more blatant instruments. If you wish to enhance the harmony with substitute chords, you must ensure that the congregation is not used to singing their own harmony; your new chords must not clash with their homemade descants and harmony. Finally, you must be very careful that congregational

9 arrangements agree with what the people generally expect to hear. A slightly gospelized arrangement of “Amazing Grace” probably won’t scandalize anyone – a Beastie Boys version of “Come To Jesus” probably would. Know your audience! When you write an arrangement for your ensemble and do not expect (or want) the congregation to sing along, you have a much greater latitude. The second step is to decide on the form. There’s a million of them; here is just one. Our target song/hymn has this existing form; refrain-verse 1-refrain-verse 2-refrain-verse 3-refrain. Decide on the excitement curve; I will start strong, go soft and gentle, have small highs and lows while slowly building the excitement, and end really big. Let’s do it. I want an intro, so I will pick some identifiable part of the song, either 4 or 8 bars (depending on tempo) and assign my melody instruments (including trumpet) to play melody in thirds over a bass, french horn and trombone pedal point on the fifth and drum doing a timpani roll. My first refrain will be voices in unison, full rhythm. The 1st verse will be women’s voices in unison doubled by clarinet and flute 8va, soft drums, arpeggiated guitar, two-beat bass, light piano fills and finger cymbals at phrase ends. 1st verse harmony is simplified. Second time through the refrain uses phrase alternation (most refrains are two large phrases, each divided into two small phrases). All unison voices on 1st small phrase, women’s voices in two parts on 2nd small phrase, men’s voices in unison on 3rd small phrase, and all unison voices on 4th small phrase. Rhythm accompanies, being careful not to overpower the middle two phrases. The 2nd verse will be men’s voices, doubled by the trombone and French horn, soft drums, plucked guitar, two-beat bass, light piano fills and shaker. 2nd verse harmony is as originally written. Third time through the refrain, voices in parts, flute and violin on descants, rhythm accompanies. The 3rd verse has voices in two or three part harmony (women/ men or soprano/alto/men) with trombone doubling men, clarinet and flute doubling women, violin playing an upper pedal point, full rhythm with finger cymbals and a bell tree lead-in to the final refrain. The final refrain has voices in parts, small soprano contingent on a descant, full rhythm with tambourine if appropriate. Instrument/voice doublings: trombone/basses, french horn/tenors, sax/altos, clarinet and trumpet/soprano, flute/descant sopranos, violin on descant 8va or upper pedal point. Tag ending (repeat of last four bars) or amen retains all the doublings with flute and violin on upper pedal point and drum playing timpani roll in last measure. Well, there it is, a useable arrangement. Will it get me in the Arranger Hall of Fame? Probably not. Will I now be known as the fourth “B” – Bach, Beethoven, Brahms and Barney? One can hope, but I doubt it. However, I will be appreciated by my ensemble who will not be limited to just playing the melody “out of the book.” And for now, that’s quite good enough for me. By the way, there are copyright rules, you know. It would fill another entire handout to cover them. Suffice it for now to say, if there is a copyright on the bottom of the music you are going to arrange, call the publisher and find out the prevailing rules; they may seem restrictive, but permission is almost always granted to do arrangements.

Helpful Hint Do yourself a favor. Go to www.Dolmetsch.com/musictheory29.htm and copy the whole Instrument Range thing. It’s the best on the web. There is no better way to make a fool of yourself than to write a note that is not on the instrument. Final Helpful Hint As I said in the beginning, there is no real right or wrong, just good and bad. If you can break every rule and still write a good arrangement – DO IT! Let your ear be your guide – listen and learn.

p.s. If you have a question about arranging or composing, I can be reached at my email address: [email protected]. Now, go forth and write a good arrangement.